Memos from Hell

If you decide to share your faith, be ready to get a "memo from Hell." The word "memo" is short for "memorandum." According to the dictionary it is "a written proposal or reminder." Your boss will give you a memo telling you what he wants you to do. It's his will for you to fulfill.

If you have enlisted for the Christian faith, you have begun a new job. The Bible is now your memo. It is there to inform you of your new Boss's will. When you were in the world, you had a different boss. His memos dictated your lusts. You joyfully ran to do his will. You used to serve sin, but you quit because you suddenly discovered that there was going to be a payday, and you didn't like the wages. They were gross. The wages of is death. A down payment had already been dealt to you in this life, and full payment would have come in Hell in the next. It was a real bad deal. Thank God that you had the good sense to obey His command to quit before payday came.

However, your old boss is a sore loser. He didn't like having to let you go. He desperately wants you back, and he keeps bugging you with memos. These are special messages that are designed to discourage you from working for your new Boss. These are personal dictates, formulated for you by subtle satanic secretaries, who know what to send you. They usually play on your fears and your weaknesses. These personal memos will usually be delivered to you through the mouth or pen of some individual from whom you least expect it. And they will come at just the right time to do their dirty demonic work.

I will never forget my first personalized memo. It came way back in 1974. I was about to preach open-air for the first time in my life. I was terrified, but I had determined to preach. I was gathering courage while looking at 20 to 30 people who were sitting on some steps in the local square of my hometown. Another Christian came alongside me, unaware of what I was planning to do. He looked in the same direction and casually said, "Look at that bunch of people. Hardly worth preaching the gospel to them...," and walked off.

It was perfect timing. Too perfect. I realized what was happening, ignored the memo and preached anyway. I thank God that I opened my mouth that day, because I ended up going back to preach open-air at that location more than three thousand times. If I had listened to the memo, I may never have gone back there again.

Jesus got a perfectly timed and personalized memo delivered to Him through the mouth of Peter. He had just finished telling His disciples about the cross and the resurrection--that He was going to be killed at the hands of the Jewish elders--when Peter (who didn't like what he heard) immediately rebuked Jesus. But look at what Jesus did. He knew where the memo originated:

He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23).

We need to react in the same way. The old boss can get behind us. We are no longer looking in his direction. His memos are now offensive to us because they work against the things of God.

Some time ago I suggested to Kirk's sister, Candace (from "Full House"), that we publish her testimony as a gospel tract. She was excited about the concept, but she explains what came her way the same day as the suggestion:

I had just spoken to 5,000 teenage girls at a youth conference. I shared my testimony using God's Law to show them our need for the Savior. I felt great about the event and felt encouraged to continue to share my faith at conferences and churches around the country. When I got home, Ray sent me an email and said, "Let's do a tract for you. We'll have some 'Full House' pictures, your testimony, and a gospel message on it." I was excited about this idea and thought it would be another wonderful tool for me to use in sharing my faith.

No sooner did I hit the send button on my reply email to Ray that I received an incoming mail message. It was from a pastor at a church where I'd spoken earlier in the year. As he was encouraging me to share my testimony with others, he had a few thoughts he wanted to share as well: "People don't need a tract that you give them . . . [Be] sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and not try to preach and condemn."

My heart sank. I was incredibly discouraged. The timing could not have been more perfect. I was so bummed out after reading it, I didn't know what to do. He was the last person I expected to hear those words from. As I realized it was Satan trying to discourage me in any way possible, I shook it off and wrote an email back telling him how important it is that we use the Law to draw people to Christ.

No doubt other memos will come. They are a sign that we're doing the right thing for the Kingdom of God. If we're not getting attacked, it would mean that we're not being effective for the Lord.

So, if you are going to seek and save the lost, you too should be ready for that "personalized" memo. When it comes, tell the deliverer that he can take it back to where it came from. He can get behind you, because you are no longer your own. You have been bought with a price. Jesus would never think of quitting. The benefits are too great. So set yourself to work at the job He has called you to do.